Patrick Ferguson

Patrick Ferguson (1744-7 October 1780) was a Major of the British Army who fought in the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. He was the leader of the Ferguson Rifle Corps, an elite unit of riflemen loyal to Great Britain.

Biography
Patrick Ferguson was born in Pitfour, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1744. He enlisted in the army at the age of 15 in 1759 during the Seven Years' War, and in 1770 he patented the Ferguson Rifle for the British Army. During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), Ferguson served in the Thirteen Colonies and he fought against the United States at the Battle of Brandywine in 1777. He gained a chance to shoot General George Washington and his aide Casimir Pulaski, but he felt that he would be a coward if he shot him in the back, so he did not fire. He later commanded British troops against Pulaski at the Battle of Chestnut Neck that year, where he defeated him.

In 1780, Ferguson was sent south to recruit loyalists for General Charles Cornwallis, whose British army had won a victory over the Americans at the Battle of Camden. Ferguson commanded the loyalist army in the Battle of Kings Mountain in October, and he was dressed in a plaid shirt to hide his identity. However, a patriot recognized him due to his Scottish accent. He was shot eight times, mainly as he hit the ground from the first shots. His body was stripped of clothing and urinated on, and he was buried in an oxhide.